A Puzzle Rearranged
by HellsingFantasyVII
Summary: After the explosion of which Yazoo and Loz created to kill Cloud, Yazoo is blown off the edge of the building, sending him crashing down into the pavement far below. When he awakens, he's faced with the fact he is without his brothers. Everything that happens to him turns out chaotic one way or another - also very strangely...
1. Chapter 1: My awakening

**Author's Note:**

**Hello! I'm Penny Lane.**

**This is a short story inspired by the Anime 'Hellsing' and also**  
**by other stories I've read here on this website, having the wonderful pairing of Yazoo X Yuffie.**

**WARNING! You might be on the edge of your seat as you experience what madness Yazoo does**  
**on his insane adventure!**

**Enjoy~**

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**A Puzzle Rearranged**

**Chapter 1**

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Standing atop of a building beside my brother Loz, we are in a battle stance, ready to make a move on our enemy. The situation is tense; given the one in front of us who is named 'Cloud' is a very special person – special to most people anyway because he is a protector. A hero, some call him. He is an ex-soldier, working now as a delivery boy. Both Loz and I are badly wounded from all the cuts and slashes he did to us, using his massive 'buster' sword, which is wide and long.

We've been battling this man roughly for some time now over one simple thing... It all started with my two brothers and my birth in a pond at the place we call 'the northern crater'. We 'manifested' into full-grown men from a black mist, and were born with a mission – a mission to find the head of an extra-terrestrial being (which fell from the heavens, creating the 'northern crater' long ago and was discovered by scientists) and put its remains back together so it can rule the planet. Somehow its head was lost. Over time – and this goes for any civilization – people do many strange things to keep information safely hidden. Cloud was informed by a group of people called 'The Turks' (they work for the same worldwide corporation he used to when he was a SOLDIER) about us after we'd tortured and nearly killed a couple of them. He didn't want us to bring the ET back, and so, this brings us to our final confrontation out of many others we've had within the 3 days of our existence.

As I painfully reach a hand out, I say in a strained voice, "We go…_**together**_," **BOOM!** Suddenly, there is an explosion after my brother and I combined many different colored orbs of magic that our bodies absorbed not long before. I'm blown off the edge of the roof and crash-land into the cold hard pavement, my body rolling a few times before I finally stop. While my rigid breathing and rapid twitches of pain take over my form, my whole world starts to go pitch-black. I'm fading away. _**I'm not going to die…I'm breathing. I'm not…dead.**_

I make a small groan and then inhale deeply. There's something cold and wet beneath me and there are rocks around – debris probably. I feel like rain is trickling down on me. Every drop that hits me gives off a burning sensation. It hurts – really bad. I cannot exactly fathom where I am. It's just too hard to even open my eyes. "L-Loz…" I take in another deep breath, "Kadaj…?" And soon, I lose consciousness...again.

**A couple of hours later…** The storm has ended, thankfully. What I awaken to is something kicking and pushing my right shoulder around. This is annoying! But I know…don't open my eyes yet. I plan a sneak attack on this pest who dares bother me. "Dude, can we just leave him here? Do we really have to take him to our hold up trailer? I think we should totally get what we can from him and just go!-Leave'em here!" A man's voice says. He sounds like he is in his mid 20's. "Fine. Just check his heartbeat. Maybe those injuries of his are killing him." Another tells him, and then I hear a rather large gun (from the sound of it, I can tell) reload.

_**Yazoo…you need to make a move – now! **_I slowly open my eyes as the one named 'Kent' lowers the side of his face to my chest. I then snatch him by the head and swiftly snap his neck, then make a quick glance up at the other man. Jumping to my feet before he aims his shotgun at me, I rush out of the way and run behind something tall. "Oh my gosh – KENT!" The gunman runs over to his friend to check to see if he is still alive, obviously forgetting me for the moment. I lower my head while my heart races. Then, I immediately look around for my gun - Velvet Nightmare. _**Oh no…where is it?! **_My eyes are now large as they scan every part of this…forest? Glancing up and looking around as fast as I can, I notice I've been carried here. That makes no sense at all!

A gunshot rings out. The bullets from the man's shotgun _**just**_ skims the tree I'm standing at. I move back out of the way, realizing I was peeking out more than I should have. "You're not gonna live longer maggot!" The gun wielder shouts. _**Think, Yazoo – think! **_My eyelids flutter anxiously as my mind goes frantic. _**Wait. Wait for him to get closer. You have catlike reflexes – use them! **_Heavy footsteps make their way toward me and then when they stop, I wait for him to peer around at me. "You killed my friend – time to die!" Just as he raises his gun, I slap it away and trip him, then smash my heel down on his throat as soon as he hits the leafy ground. Now there's silence. Now I have a little time to gather my thoughts and figure out where I am. I move my gaze up to the treetops and see that I am in a normal forest – not the forgotten city where all the trees are white and crystalline. And there are sounds of cars way off to the east of me. I mustn't be far from Midgar...

All of a sudden, a memory flashes in my mind. _**Cloud…big brother. Kadaj and Loz! Where are they? Are they dead? No they can't be! No! I'm alone! All alone?! **_I fall to my knees, letting out a small eventual sob, "My brothers…are gone? What will I do now?" _**Why am I even alive? **_And that question really confuses me. Should I go look for them? Wait…if I go back to Midgar, I'll be spotted and killed for sure!-Maybe. I stare at my hands and slowly ball them into fists as I squeeze my eyes shut, "I need to find another way to live." After a moment of just sitting there, mourning, I clear my throat and stand up to search for a way out of here. I start off by grabbing the shotgun and checking the rounds. There are plenty. "Good." Then I begin walking eastward, forgetting about the bodies. I must be careful and shield myself from the public the best I can. Keep everything about me – secret. I don't know if that is Midgar out that way, but it is my best guess.

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**Author's Note:**

**Yes, yes...short chapter.**

**However, it may be interesting this way, you find?  
Review your opinion on what you think Yazoo should do first!**

P.S. I've got a chapter two coming up!


	2. Chapter 2: Fresh Start

**A Puzzle Rearranged   
**

**Chapter 2**

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**Stepping out of the **forest, I see a city before me. There are a few clothes and food shops nearby, which I find very relieving. The journey here wasn't too bad. The bugs were a little annoying, but at least the trip was short – I suppose I'd call it that. My black leatherette suit is covered in blood and severely tattered, and my stomach aches like I haven't eaten in days. Food could definitely help me regain my energy. All I have that I could exchange for those things is this shotgun. I wouldn't dare give this up; it's my only defense!

I sigh and lazily blink at the sights ahead. _**If I kill anyone, I'll draw unwanted attention. **_I suppose I will just have to put on a front of some sort – though that is not me and completely out of character. I move forward, and with much effort, I try to avoid anyone seeing me with a gun.

Finally, after the stealthy maneuvering, I make it up to the back of a burger place and loudly knock on the backdoor a few times. A minute goes by. It opens, revealing a large gentleman wearing a big greasy white apron. I can't help but to stare at his massive grey beard and his large gut.

"Whoa! Er…can I 'elp ya?" He says.

I quickly blink, shaking my head at the same time, and then I look up at him from his belly to his face, "Y-Yes…please,"

He scratches the back of his balding head and gives me an uncertain look, "If ya need some clothes, just ask the lady across from 'ere. Her name's Beth." Then he forms a worried face, "What's the gun fer?" At first, I just have a blank expression, but then, I calm but chokingly whisper, "I was held hostage in the woods for a long time." I tell you, those words left my lips differently than I wanted them to.

The man in front of me looses his uneasiness and starts to look more perceptive. He slowly pushes the door in further and waves his other hand toward the interior, inviting me inside, "Well son, if that's the case and you need help, I'd be more than happy to see ya regain your health. Come on in and get yerself a nice juicy burger! But yer gonna have ta leave the gun out here." At the mentioning of the shotgun, I hold it closer and shake my head at him, "I'd rather keep it close." My eyes narrow a little as if I am suspicious. He studies me for a second or two and then says, "…As long as you keep that barrel down, I'll let ya in." "…_**Really**_?" I can't believe he is so…welcoming…

He nods at me with an eventual warm smile. I purse my lips and turn my head down in thanks as I carefully go in. No, I am not the slightest bit worried about him; I am still 'on edge'. I assume my brothers are dead. Cloud must be too. Now him, I wanted to kill because that is what he deserved. He killed me (in a sense).

I am not human – I am a part of a man who had extra-terrestrial DNA injected into him when he was still in his mother's womb. He died and went into a thing called 'the life stream', but some of him lingers on, making it possible for him to resurrect (in a way). My two brothers and I were his resurrection – and now only I exist. I remember our mission was to bring mother (the ET) back so she could rule the entire planet. But Cloud was stopping us from that. Loz and I fought until we blew the top of that building up. We both knew we couldn't let it carry on anymore because both of us were dying already. I surely wasn't going to let that blonde-headed fool win the battle – no! But…now that my brothers are dead, I have no reason to live – do I? There must be a reason why I am alive. Freak accident, perhaps? I am unhappy about it.

"In here Sonny!" The man who greeted me calls out. I pause and slowly turn around to face him. Evidently, I was walking ahead of him when I should have stayed behind him. These thoughts caused me to lose track of reality and what is happening around me. "Right," I mutter and then follow him into the kitchen.

He walks over to a man by the stove and whispers something to him, then they both look at me. Impassively, I watch them. _**Must be my gun they're worried about. I won't say anything though. **_The delightful scent of those burgers on the grill is beyond blissful. It makes my stomach really rumble! The one by the stove nods at me and then holds out his hand for me to shake, "Welcome to Grant's home of the finest burgers." I look down at his hand and take a step back, "Thank you, but I am more interested in eating than anything." He raises an eyebrow, draws his hand back, and then grins a bit, "Alright then. Let me get you one. Hold tight – this one's on the house! One meater COMIN' UP!" He whirls around to the grill and flips a patty a couple of times.

While my eyes follow the delicious-looking burger, my mouth waters. He plops it on a bun on a plate and tops it with many things, then he gives it to me. My subconscious is telling me to leap forward and snatch it from him like a wolf, while my conscience recommends I be polite and grateful. I gulp and lightly smirk as I take it from him, "Thanks." He bows his head a bit in reply. As for the other one, who I now assume is the owner, he is observing me like a hawk. This is an awkward moment, but I don't care too much. I do wonder what he'll say about how much Gil (money) it'll cost me. I should have told him from the start, but I didn't want to go right out and tell him I'm poor. He probably wouldn't have let me in here.

The 'owner' flicks his wrist toward the exit, "Well, go on and be on your way then. My place is about to close, boy." My eyes light up at that. "You…don't care about the gil?" I quietly ask, questionably leaning forward. He shakes his head and hands, "Oh no, no, no!" he laughs, "It's alright. You've already been through a lot, so I'll let it slide only this time." Again, my brows lower tentatively. _**Just accept it and do as he said – be on your way. **_The other guy says, "You look like you need a make-over. Go to Beth's place and get fixed up." He winks at me as soon as I look at him. He adds, "But be careful with the gun. She's got a mean side you don't wanna mess with." I crease my brow, "And what do you mean by that?" Both of them laugh at my question, which makes me frown. "Listen, you don't exactly seem to be…from Midgar." He points at his head in such a way I imagine he is talking about my hair. "My silver hair, you mean?" I murmur. They nod.

So again, I sigh in annoyance. Not only have I learned that I truly am in Midgar, but I am a threat to the people here because I 'look' different. The owner walks up to me and pats me hard on the back, "You'll be alright. She don't normally hurt no one – not even a fly." I wince a bit. I was just reminded the cuts are still there. If only I had 'cure materia'. Those little colorful orbs of magic always do wonders when they dissolve into your skin. I nod and raise a hand, "Thanks. I'll go now." They watch me leave.

Now back in the alley, I rest the shotgun against the wall and look down at the burger, then scarf it up like an animal. _**Oh, it's just as delicious as it smelled! Wonderful! **_When I'm finished, I toss the plate into the nearby dumpster, collect my weapon, and then head on over to 'Beth's'. I hope she doesn't attack me when she sees this gun. I haven't the patience for that nonsense. The streets are just about dead and the sun is setting. There's also a gentle warm breeze. It feels good, but the cuts and bruises all over my body effect how I walk and distract my thinking a little. After this trip to the clothes store, I should find a place to sleep. I imagine that will be somewhat difficult. I wouldn't have thought that being alone is so nail-bitingly risky – but consider the circumstances.

I approach the side of Beth's and look through the window in the door. The place is dim. "No one is here?" I questioningly muse. But then the door quickly opens and makes me jump. "Hey there! Can I help y-" The woman looks me up and down as her mouth slowly falls agape. I just stand there. What else can I do?-Nothing really. "What happened to _**you**_?" Her voice is small and cute – just like her frame. She must be in her early 20's or so. Her skin is alabaster white, she has short, curly strawberry-blonde hair , there are freckles going from one cheekbone to the other, her salmon-colored lips are slightly heart-shaped, and her eyes are either a dark brown or they are blood-red. Yes...she's adorable. Strangely, very alluring to me.

I clear my throat and then say, "I was told to see Beth…by those over-" I glance back at 'Grant's place' and see the two men I spoke to locking up and getting ready to leave. "Grant and Jessie?" She asks me. I look back at her, "Yes." She makes a little "Tch," noise, and then yells out, "Hey, you boys tell this guy to come here?" Grant waves his hand at her, "Yeah, just help him out! It's safe I promise!" After that, our eyes lock back on each other and the two men walk away. She looks at my clothes and folds her arms, shaking her head all the while, "Tsk, Tsk, Tsk… Honey, you definitely need B-B's help." I arch an eyebrow. _**B-b…? As in Beth Beth? Huh...Okay. **_She then grabs my arm and pulls me inside before I can say anything else to her. But when she shuts the door and turns back to me, she sees the gun in my right hand and shrieks, "What's that?!" I raise my left hand defensively, "I needed it to protect myself!" She shoots me a wary look, "Protect you from what – Grant's belly?!" That – puzzles me right away. "…N-…NO!" I say. She gives me a sort of skeptical face. I slap my forehead and growl, "Mother, please have mercy on me…"

"What?" She asks.

I peek through my fingers at her, "Never mind. Please, I need some clothes." She only stares at me, then soon asks, "…Can you explain to me why I should do that so freely?" I don't answer her just yet.

I look around for other people. I don't like crowded rooms at all. Turning back to her, I take a step closer, "I was kidnapped, taken to the forest out there," I point toward the direction I came from, "and I was held hostage for a long time. I managed to escape…and in the process of that…I got hurt." She looks from my right to my left eye in concern while her bottom lip lightly quivers, "…Why?" Boring my gaze into hers, I slowly lift the gun up and then abruptly jerk it as if I'm cocking it, "I don't care to explain any more than that. Now give me some clothes…_**please**_." A shaky breath leaves her lips as I move away from her. "A-alright then," She agrees in a small voice. After examining a shelf filled with black sun-glasses, I look over my shoulder at her and dip my head, "Hm,"


	3. Chapter 3: A Most Interesting Encounter

**A Puzzle Rearranged**

**Chapter 3**

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**She finishes tying my **tie and then steps away from me. I am staring at myself in the mirror. I have on black slacks, a black formal jacket, a buttoned-up long-sleeved shirt underneath, and a red tie. The shoes are…red converse. She chose this suit for me, but I just wanted casual clothing. Woman nature is interesting, I find.

I slowly look to the side at her and see her smirk at me. "You look good!" She says. I face her and nod, "Thank you." Raising my eyebrow, I glance over at the shotgun next to a counter and say, "I didn't mean to intimidate you that bad." Though it's actually her that somewhat intimidates me. It's her crimson eyes. I want ask her why they're red, but I care not to carry on a conversation with her about it. "Oh…It's good!" I look back at her with little amazement toward what she said. "Are those…" She points at her eyes, "Contacts?" I slightly grimace and turn my head away, "Y-yeah. They…" I start to go off into some explanation, but then I give up and shake my head, "I must leave now. Again, thank you." Funny...she's asking about _**my **_eyes!

I am now walking toward the gun, but I pause and look at her again, "Your eyes are red - why?" She giggles lightly and shrugs, "I've got contacts." My suspicion has just met its end. "Oh...nice." I say. Now proceeding over to get my weapon, I feel her stop me by grabbing my arm. I dart my eyes down at it and then back at her with disapproval, "You mind?"

She blinks, then quickly takes her hand off, "Uh- uh, sorry," I form an expectant look. I'm not sure why either. Maybe I wanted her to apologize a little better than that. You can't wish for too much when you are dealing with someone from Midgar though – at least that's my opinion. I pull away and pick up my gun, then give her a last nod before heading out.

She raises her right hand, "Free of charge! Come see me- I mean US again!"

I shut the door with my heel and hide the gun away in my jacket, though some of it can be seen – like the handle. The majority of it (meaning the barrel) is hidden. Yeah…it's a smaller type of shotgun.

I look at the sky and see all the stars and the full moon. The night is cool and everything is quiet. Only a couple of cars are out. I go to turn my head down, but as I do that, something catches my eye. I pause and draw my brows down. The tops of the buildings…someone is up there hopping from one to the other. You don't expect that in this city, do you?

I tighten my grip on the gun and get closer to one of the surrounding structures. There's a sudden whoosh noise and then I hear, "You! You fought Cloud, didn't you?!" A woman said that… A **_young_ **woman!

I shift around and look at her from head to toe, "Who are you?"

She tilts her head to one side, propping her hand on her hip and making an 'As if you wouldn't know' scoff, "Well, I'm the great ninja of Wutai, Yuffie Kisaragi! Also named the white rose, but that's only what friends call me. And you're not," she pokes my chest, "one of'em." Then she sticks her tongue out at me.

A corner of my upper lip curls up in disgust and I push her hand away, "If you're so great, then why weren't you there to save your 'friend'? The one you call 'Cloud'?" She huffs at me, "Don't you dare accuse me of not being there for my friends, momma's boy!" The insult 'momma's boy' makes me instantaneously aim the shotgun at her face, "I will not have you refer to me that way!" She pushes it away and glares at me, "You're supposed to be-"

"Yuffie…" A man's voice suddenly says.

I snap my head up and look around for where that came from. He sounds so familiar, but I can't put my finger on who it is!

"_**Vincent**_…!" Yuffie whines, "I told you! I can take care of myself!"

I move my head back to the normal position and tighten my grip on my weapon. I see a gold point-tipped shoe first step out of the near dark alley and slowly, my eyes move up the black leg to his face. He is that pale red-eyed man who wears black leather clothing and a ripped red cape. So that's his name...Vincent. I don't know anything else about him other than when I was with my brothers at the forgotten capital he spied on us countless times. I never told them about him because I didn't think he was a big threat to us. Now, I'm not sure what to think.

He pushes her aside, glowering at me, "You are supposed to be dead, remnant." I unhurriedly cock my head to one side and focus on him, "I did a fine job at defying the laws of nature…didn't I?" Vincent growls at me and says, "You'd better get lost or it will be bad for you." "Oh? How so…?" I smirk at him darkly, "What are you going to do, _**Vinnie**_?"

"OH you NO GOOD-!" Yuffie tries to run at me, but Vincent pushes her back and says, "Yuffie, this isn't the time." "But Vincent-!" "NO!"

Their arguing makes me simper and I find the perfect time to sneak into the darkness. Vincent shifts his weight in search of me, then he growls again and turns back to Yuffie, "Yuffie, go back home. I need to take care of this." She forms a pouting face, "Vinnie," He grabs her shoulders, "I will not allow any of AVALANCHE to be at risk. You need to go." She stomps her foot, "Fine! Normally I wouldn't take no for an answer, but if it helps you-! UGH! Only for AVALANCHE and my friends!" She runs off. Watching her for a second, he makes sure she is safe, then he turns back to the dark alley and rushes down that way.

I stop and place my hand firm against the wall. I had already gone around many corners. The pain is returning but feeling much worse than before. I must keep my mouth shut and try to breathe comfortably. If I don't, I'll be easy to detect. I take a couple of steps forward and pick up speed again until I come upon a set of steel stairs.

My eyes follow them and meet the top. These lead to an apartment! How convenient! I glance down at the shotgun in my hands and look at it for a moment. _**There might be someone in there, but I need to find shelter for both sleep and safety. **_Safety has never been an issue with me. I never cared. But I sure do now! With a great inhale and then a huge puff of air, I look back up at the doorway to the apartment and trudge forward. I am so exhausted, it's not funny!

I stop at the door up here and slap my hand onto the knob, then attempt to twist it. It's not working. It's locked. Maybe even **_padlocked_**! If it's padlocked, I'm in trouble. I think I lost Vincent, but I can't be sure. He's obviously hard to track. I lean to the left to look inside the window. And there's…more darkness. _**Blast it with the gun? Wait. No! That would be insane! **_I grumble inaudible words to myself and then start bashing the butt of the gun into the window.

It's cracking now – thank Jenova! When I get enough of the glass broken, I push some in and then manage to crawl inside. Wow…it's really dark in here! I aim the gun and carefully walk around to find a way to light the room. So far, all I'm doing is running into furniture that feels like it's covered in sheets. I suddenly ram into a wall, which makes me grunt from the force, and then I start feeling around for a light switch. Nope – there's nothing there.

"There has to be something here!" I quietly snarl.

Just then, I hear footsteps and someone talking on the other side of this wall. Jumping away from it, I aim the gun again. I am not in front of the door, am I? The knob starts twitching like someone is having a hard time unlocking it. I slowly take a few steps backward. Oh I am ready to kill something. I will if I have to!

The door opens and there I see an old man. He turns the light on and blinks at me, then says, "What the heck are you doin' in here?" I gradually lower the barrel. _**Isn't he a bit worried about the gun?**_

"I need…sleep." I whisper, and then arch an eyebrow.

"Well why didn't you say so? Where's your Pajamas, boy?" He shakes his head and goes back out, shutting the door on the way. I drop the gun, my mouth falling open a little, "What a weird evening I am having…" I turn and see a couch. Though it has a white sheet covering it, it has a comfy look. Leaving the gun where it lay, I drag my feet over to the sofa, rip the cover off, then plop down on it and close my eyes. I feel so bad…but maybe…I can find **_some _**peace. The light is on but I care not to bother with shutting it off. I don't want to move.

When morning comes, I will set out to find a means of transportation and after that…I shall make my new life in another city. _**A new life…one alone. **_I curl up into a little ball as tears begin to seep through my tightly squeezed eyelids, "Kadaj…Loz…how I miss you, my brothers." Even if they treated me horribly at times at that capital, we all still loved each other. We are all one man, but as separated, we had brotherly love. Humans wouldn't understand…nor could they. I'd never say the word 'love' because that is something we don't understand – at least not like humans would. It's more like a bond. Eventually…my great mourning puts me to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4: Who do you think you are?

**A Puzzle Rearranged**

**Chapter 4**

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**Sunlight beaming in through the** broken window wakes me, causing me to squint and lightly hiss at it. I open my eyes a bit and look over in that direction. _**Right…the new day. **_I sit up and massage my face tensely, agitatedly. "Where should I go first?" I ask myself.

A few seconds pass and then I slap my knees before rising to go to the bathroom. And when I do go in there, I scan everything around. The room isn't very dark, which makes it easy for me to find the light switch. I turn it on and carry out the necessary business (using the facilities).

Now that I'm finished cleaning up after myself, I walk back out of the small room, grab my shotgun, shimmy out of the window, and go down the stairs outside. I get to the bottom of the steps and then stop to the sound of children playing with each other not too far away from here. They're possibly just around a couple of these corners. _**Great – people are near. **_I look to my right where there is a clear path and then I stride down that way.

Going along this alley, I spot a bicycle, so I quickly stop and inspect it. _**It looks alright to ride, but how am I going to stow this gun away? I need to keep that out of sight the best I can. **_I roll my eyes and look everywhere for the owner. No one is around…it's just me. Good.

I walk up to it, throw my leg over to the other side and get situated on it, then I ride off from this area. I expect to see a main drag soon. That would be great! However, I'd still have to somehow stay nonchalant and have a nonthreatening appearance. Being the sort of person I am, it's a little hard to do that. I'll try though – I have to. I admit I look like a clown how I hold the barrel of this gun in my jacket while I control the bike's handlebars. Oh well…

I come upon the end of the alleyway and turn right onto what I see, a larger street. This is either a blessing in disguise or just a horrible place for me to go. I stay close to the buildings, on the sidewalks. Apparently, the people don't like me riding on here because they're shaking their fists and yelling at me. What can I do though? Where could I go when there are cars on the street and no room for bicyclists to ride? I only smirk a little at them because their anger amuses me. Soon enough, any of what I do now will not matter to them in the future, for it will easily be forgotten.

I continue up the sidewalk and turn left onto…a main drag! It seems to lead the way out of this stupid city! Perfect! I hasten my pace, determined to get away from here as fast as possible. But on reaching the very end, I nearly ram into someone.

Swerving the bike, I whirl my head around to glare at the person who ran in front of me. It's that NINJA! "Get out of my way!" I shout at her, yet my voice isn't exactly as threatening as I should have it. Maybe if I tried to be more intimidating, she'll get the memo? Let's see what happens…

She twirls her 4-pointed blade (looks like a star, actually) around a few times in her right hand and then firmly throws that arm down to her waist, then she nods at me, "You're not leaving until you get a taste of Wutai FURY!" I shoot her a black look, "You don't have any idea who you're messing with, ninja. Let me pass and drop your grudge against me." She points her weapon at me, "Oh but I _**do**_ know! You are an enemy to AVALANCHE! Therefore, I shouldn't let you go!"

_**Damn she is persistent! **_I squeeze one handlebar tight and angrily, then I release my grasp on it and lean back a tad, "What will you do?" I then pull the rest of the shotgun out of my jacket and make a smug expression.

Her eyes study it as if she is starting to get a little worried, but she then quickly bolts her attention back up to my face and glowers at me, "Nice gun, but I got my super-speed! I'm invincible compared to you, silver-haired creep!" I tilt my head slowly, watching her have a fit over my existence. Just me being alive irritates her – that's actually hilarious! She is quite a pest though…such a distraction that shouldn't be spared any longer.

I aim the gun at her, "Enough talking." And then I grin, lowering my head, staring her down. "Huh?!" She gasps and jumps. I begin to giggle and then fire on her. But she immediately blocks the bullets with her weapon and leaps out of the way.

Where'd she go? I look all over for her but I can't find her! I growl, quickly put the gun away, and kick the dirt on trying to flee from here. I manage to get farther into the desert-like place. And I am still searching for her. I understand she's back in that city, but you never know what could happen when you face a ninja. I look back in front of me and go ahead on. Just how far can I go with this bike before tiring out? I'm wounded and haven't eaten breakfast. This is bad news now that I think about it. The canyon I am heading toward (called Cosmo Canyon) couldn't be very far. I remember it not being a long distance from Midgar to there. Being on this bicycle makes things seem farther away! Cosmo canyon is one of the few things I am mostly familiar with. Loz and Kadaj might be there – I hope.

_**Keep peddling Yazoo!**_ Determination drives me forward – determination to reunite with them. Unfortunately, after a while, my breathing goes coarse and my legs feel drained of energy. My body is drenching in sweat from the heat, my vision is getting unbearably blurry, and my lips are badly chapped. I move my legs a little more until I fall off the bike, the shotgun tumbling out of my hand.

* * *

**Suddenly, I hear** a familiar feminine voice say, "HEY! Silvee!" Someone kicks me in the ribs. I softly moan and struggle to open my eyes. It hurts to lick my lips. Not to mention, I have a bad taste in my mouth – tastes like dirt in fact. "Ugh, argh…what is-? H- Who…?" I quietly muster, then cough.

The figure kneels beside me and grabs my arm. I feel her wrap it around her neck and then she helps me stand. My legs are like jelly, which is very frustrating! I finally open my eyes enough to be able to see where I am and who is helping me. I look to my left at her. Yuffie? Why her? Why is _**she **_helping me? "…_**Yuffie**_?" I choke. As she starts to talk, my eyes begin to get droopy. My head eventually slumps over onto her shoulder as I fall unconscious…again.

* * *

**I slowly wake up. **I'm in a room – a white room. I'm staring at a ceiling. _**Where am I? What happened? **_I turn my head from left to right and see this is a bedroom. "A…bedroom…?" Slowly, I sit up.

My torso's wrapped in white cloth, my upper clothes draped over a wooden chair in the corner near the door. I feel…replenished. Not fully though. I am extremely thirsty! Wait…what about the shotgun? I quickly look for it. As soon I spot it near a mirror, I let out a huge breath of relief, then I lick my lips and sigh. I go to rub my forehead and start to think over the last thing I remember happening to me...

I was on my way to the canyon to find my brothers, but then Yuffie showed up. How'd she find me and what did she use to get there? Ohh do I really care?-I need to get up and take my leave of this…place – whatever 'this place' is. So, I rise from the bed and take one step off, then automatically collapse to the floor.

I huff, slap my right hand onto the bed frame and glance up at the door, "How inconvenient," I snarl under my breath. Just after those words leave my lips, I hear that ninja run up to the other side of the door and then I see her open it real fast. I blink at her with an ugly attitude. Her mouth twirls up into a sneer. _**Stop looking at me like that! **_I mentally seethe.

"Well, looks like someone is desperate to escape hospitality!" She mockingly says. I pull myself up with a grunt and finally make it onto the bed, looking at her hatefully the whole time, "I don't know what you did to me, but I feel like I can't even move!"

She scoffs and starts walking up to me, but I hold up a hand and shake my head, "Don't come any closer." She blinks at me, then says, "Or what?"

Oh, if I could, I would answer that with 'Or it'll be death for you'. _**Maybe I will kill her...**_ _**She's a friend of Cloud's...this gives me a reason to. First, **__**let's see what happens**_ **- though my patience is running thin.**

I turn my head down, "Just tell me why I am alive…why you let me live."

"Because I want some answers!"

I shoot my eyes back up at her. _**What is there to be said? I know nothing! **_"…Good luck," I mutter. Her right eyebrow rises and she takes a step closer, "What do you mean 'good luck'?" I lightly smirk at her, "I have no information to share." She puts her hands on her hips in a disappointed way, "Yes you do! Stop toying with me and spit it out!" "Well sure…if I could," I cock my head to one side and continue to be coy.

She growls at me and stomps up, then points at my face, "You tell me right now or I'll-" I grab her hand and get closer to her face, my pupils flickering with a sort of eagerness to hear the rest of her threat, "Or you'll _**what**_?" Her eyes widen and her mouth falls open a bit.

For a moment, we stare at each other. One is uneasy and the other is amused but annoyed. She snaps her hand away and glares at me, "You had better cooperate if you want to live!" She marches out after that coldly said sentence. I lower my gaze to the floor, gently dropping my hand down to my right thigh, "…What if I said I don't want to live?" **Well...I let her live this time...**


	5. Chapter 5: I'm living with a mad woman!

**A Puzzle Rearranged**

**Chapter 5**

* * *

**A few hours have **gone by, and all I've done is rested in this bed. I've thought a lot about that explosion and about my brothers. I've wondered - say they are alive - if they are out looking for me. Would Kadaj do that? He led us the whole time we were together.

The door suddenly opens and in comes Yuffie with a plate of something. It smells wonderful! _**I hope that isn't poisonous… **_I watch her set it down on the bedside table and then she looks at me. With a sigh, she sits down beside me and says, "Our last conversation started kinda bad…can we…start over?" I arch an eyebrow at her.

_**She's being kind…? Why is that? **_Readjusting myself in bed, I stare at her somewhat warily, "Alright," She nods at me, "Kay, good. I have a question." I dip my head permissively at that. She carries on, "What happened after the explosion? You lived – why?" I don't reply right away…just observe her. Then I say while turning my head away, "I don't want to explain that." She grabs my leg, "Yazoo," I quickly look at her, my leg, then back up at her. _**She knows my name? Why is she squeezing my leg?**_

She withdraws her hand nervously and then clears her throat, "I want to know." My eyes narrow, "Why? Why can't I just go and leave you and your friends alone? Don't you see that I don't care to fight anymore? I no longer have the same agenda!" I lean forward and get quiet, "I'm not your enemy anymore – understand me, ninja?" She moves closer to my face, "I understand fine… But I want to know you better." That, what she said, baffles me. I leisurely back up some, "You want to know _**me**_?" She looks into my eyes like she is searching for something and it actually unsettles me…a little. She murmurs, "You out of your brothers seem the most interesting and I want to know you." I start to smirk while responding with, "I _**am**_ the quiet one. Which means you will not get much out of me."

She doesn't reply to that. She just sits there, looking at me. By the way she's behaving, she might be admiring me. It's odd. She suddenly grins and stands up, "Ok. If you want to play it that way, you're gonna be staying here for a LONG time!" She lightly giggles and jogs over to the door, "You should eat – you got terrible breath!" She goes out, slamming the door shut behind her.

I growl at her insult and then look at the food. There is a bowl of soup…an egg-roll…and some fruit on the plate. _**Huh. **_I shout, "This isn't poisonous, is it?" "Nope! I let you live, remember?" She yells back. I blink at the dinner and then roll my eyes, "Whatever." I begin feasting on it, starting off with the egg-roll. The first bite was like heaven. I need MORE! And so, my barbaric side takes over, devouring the food like a severely famished caveman.

Upon finishing my meal, I set it aside and lie back down, folding my arms behind my head on the white pillow. _**Why is she treating me with kindness? This question continues to ponder my thoughts and it is starting to become quite bothersome. What about the way she was looking at me? And then she just got up and pretended I was never an enemy – like I was some bum off the street that she took pity on. Is that how she sees me? **_I glance over at the shotgun. _**I need to get up and find a way out of here. I can't stay. I can take care of myself!**_

Carefully, I sit up and put my feet on the floor, then slowly stand. I close my eyes and inhale softly, comfortably, "One step forward. Easy to do." I take a pace away from the bed, then another, and another. Once I get to the shotgun, I reach out and take it. It's heavy… Of course it's heavy! I'm still healing – apparently the natural way... I'm still getting my strength back! I check the ammunition and notice there aren't any bullets. This gun has been emptied! I form an angry scowl and want to yell, but what good would shouting do? Putting it back against the wall and walking over to the door, I grab the knob, turn it, then stagger down a narrow hall. I must have been drugged to be getting this effect; I can't walk straight.

There's noise from a television in a nearby room. Yuffie must be in there. Instead of following the sound, I go left into the kitchen in hope that I could find an easy, quiet exit soon. Well, on entering that room I look for one, but can't find it. I silently curse my mother's name and exasperatedly rub my face.

"Silvee?" I hear behind me, coming from the place I avoided.

My eyes widen with anxiety and I start searching around for a quick escape. As I begin to shift my weight to get away, I hear her come up to me. "What are you doing?" Her voice seems playful and amused. I sigh and slowly turn to her, "I can't stay here. You must know why." She looks at me sardonically and tilts her head, "Yeah yeah – I know. You can't stay here because I might tell my friends you're alive." _**Wait. She hasn't told them already? **_"You didn't tell them?" I ask. She shakes her head the negative, "Nope! No I didn't!" She scratches the back of her head and lowers her eyes in a troubled sort of way, "I…probably shouldn't have said that."

A grin gradually spreads across my face while I watch her brown eyes scan the floor as if she's distressed. _**You know…she's kind of cute. Look at her short black hair, her nice complexion, and her small figure... **_A small chuckle begins to leave my throat but then I quickly stop because I realize my thoughts toward her.

She bolts her eyes back up at me, "Hey, what are you laughin' at?!"

I, still grinning, tip my head to the right side and smoothly say, "You…"

"Huh?! Why?!"

I shake my head with a small laugh, "You make absolutely no sense to me." Her features go from dumbfounded to offended in a blink of an eye, "Yeah? Well what about you? You're not even A REAL PERSON!" She harshly jabs my chest three times with the tip of her index finger when mentioning me not being real, then she huffs at me. I just stand there and smile at her.

Soon, I grab her hands and say, "That is true, but hear this out…I am not who I was back then." I lean in close to her left ear and whisper while staring at the wall in front of me, "So let me go," Eventually, I back away, releasing her hands. She blinks up at me many times. Have I caused her to lose her train of thought? How…_**amusing**_. All she says is, "But-…but-?"

Still backing away from her, I raise an eyebrow, "But?" She instantly purses her lips and growls at me, "Don't do that!" "Don't do _**what**_?" I calmly whisper. "You want to stay away from my friends, you're gonna have to stay with me! You know why? I'll tell you why! Someone needs to keep their eye on your butt, because if they don't, you just MIGHT try to cause trouble again!"

That is a good point, but no…that isn't really what I decide to do. She doesn't know that though. I need to get away from here! I'm already starting to like her and that's not good!

I pause and say, "So you're holding me hostage?" She nods once, stomping her foot to the floor, "You bet I am!" I tilt my head slowly, "If you are doing that, then I suggest you try harder." She abruptly stops nodding, "Wha-?"

I turn my head down with an evil smile, "Your hostage is escaping now… Goodbye Yuffie."

I whirl around the corner, grabbing a broom, and run to the window at the end of the hall. After shattering it with the handle, I jump out. She chases me, yelling "HEY!" on the way. I stealthily jog along the wall until I get to the front of the house, and there, I find a motorcycle. _**Good! Something familiar! **_She bursts out the front door as soon as I run up to it, and then she rushes toward me. I get on it and look for the key, but it's not anywhere in sight! She approaches me and yanks me away from the vehicle, "Get off there!" I fall back onto the ground and she accidentally lands on top of me.

When she and I look at each other, I push her off and turn over to crawl away. Sadly enough…she snatches me by my long silver hair and holds me in place, "You're not escaping!" I wince and try to look back at her, "Argh, let me go!" "NO!" She stands up, pulling me with her, and then she walks me back into the house.

* * *

**I'm pushed into a chair **by that crazy ninja, who then says, "Stay put!"

I angrily watch her walk around to the back of me and then she ties my hands to the furniture. I flip my hair back with a big annoyed puff of air leaving my lips. She goes back to the front of me, slides a chair up, and then plops down on it and puts her foot on the clear spot between my legs. I slowly look up from there into her eyes. _**She'd better not do anything to me.**_

"Now you're considered a hostage. And now I can get some answers." She smiles at me. I only grimace at her. Leaning forward, she makes an expectant frown, "You know the question – answer it!" _**Yeah. And I don't want to.**_ I arch an eyebrow. She slumps back in her chair and folds her arms, "Yazzy…what can I do to get it out of you?" I slowly throw my head back with a forming smile, "Nothing at all. But you could stop the name-calling." She snarls at me and leaps out of her chair, onto me. She yanks my head down a tad so she can look into my eyes, "Why are you not dead?!" I search her eyes with amazement.

_**Why is she sitting on me?! **_"Get _**off**_ me!" I gasp. She snatches my hair, "ANSWER ME!" I wince, but then, after a moment, I start to laugh at her. Her eyebrows knit and she takes her hand away from the back of my head, "You're really _**that**_ stubborn?" I stop my mirth and focus my gaze on her, "I really don't see why my death is so important to you."

"It's important because I would like to know if I'm dealing with a zombie or not – duh!"

"I assure you, I am 100% alive. I have body heat. And all this excitement you're giving me…" I mockingly shudder, "It's making it rise,"

Her eye twitches at that and she starts to get off, but my hands easily come undone from all of my light squirming (she didn't know I was fiddling with the rope the whole time) and I grab her by the waist before she stands, receiving a gasp from her. I sigh into her ear, "Don't go just yet," I can feel her start to come apart in my arms. _**I knew it. She liked me from the start! **_

She suddenly pushes away from me, "NO!" I almost hit the floor, but as my hair spills over my face, I shove a hand out to the counter behind me to break my fall, and then I instantly jump to my feet.

She backs into a wall as I saunter up to her, moving my hair out of my face all the while. I corner her by putting my hands to either side of her face, then I nearly touch noses with her, "I have a fascination for you already – you want to know what it is?" My voice is low and quiet. "W- What?" She whispers. "You're high-strung and insane." _**Just like me.**_

I grin and snicker after saying that. I then close in on her and press my lips to hers. I know she wanted that – I just know it! At first, she refuses me, but not too long after, she slides her hands up my chest and wraps her arms around my neck. I grab her waist and pick her up, then take her over to the table so she doesn't have to stand on her toes to kiss me. Moving away from her lips, I go down to her neck and nibble at it, granting a small noise from her that makes me smile in a smug way. _**She even makes adorable noises. **_She lifts my chin and I lazily open my eyes to look into hers, my lips parted.

She quietly says, "...You haven't won me over, Yazoo."

I furrow my brows at her statement. _**What?**_

She points at the hall, "Bedrooms are there. Go to yours." _**GAH!**_

She jumps off the counter-top and pats me on the shoulder, "See ya tomorrow!" She skips down the hall and pauses at the doorway to her room. Looking over her shoulder at me, which I stand there stupidly, she says, "Oh yeah and – the windows and doors are off-limits. I didn't tell you that there is a big behemoth running around outside. He comes and goes as he pleases… Night then!" She slides her hand down the door-frame and gives me a tired flirtatious look as she slips inside her room. I hear the door shut and then after a minute, I shake my head quickly, "What…?" I look down at my hands, the floor, the rest of the room, and then I grumble something to myself and plod my way to my bedroom. "This is unreal!" I slam the door shut.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Not what you expected, eh? Yuffie is quite unpredictable, isn't she?**  
**Yazoo thought he could get on her good side, but NOPE! What should he do with her? Let her live or kill her?**  
**Review your thoughts!**


	6. Chapter 6: Allow me to introduce myself

**A Puzzle Rearranged**

**Chapter 6**

* * *

**I smell bacon **cooking… My eyes snap open and scan the room. The door is open. Has she gone in here and checked on me? If so – how many times I wonder? I get out of bed and go into the kitchen. She's standing at the stove, wearing a dark purple apron. She turns to me and grins, asking, "Sleep well?" I look at the food in the pan and then up at her, "Quite…" _**More than I wanted to sleep, actually. **_"Well, here's some bacon and eggs! Orange juice is in the fridge!" I glance over and move up to it, then open the door. "It's on the top shelf!" She says. I find it, take the carton, and begin reading the label.

She puts a few things on the table, "Come sit down. And don't drink the entire carton!" I look up at her and then do as told. She prepares a plate for me and then she does her own. Afterward she joins me at the table. While she smiles proudly at her creation, I stare at what she has given me. "Why?" I ask. "Huh?" She questions me. I glance up at her, "Why have you locked me up here? Don't you live with your friends or something?" She drops her fork and props her chin in her hand, "I live anywhere I go. I'm not bound to anyplace really. I used to live with my dad in Wutai, but I don't anymore… I don't want to talk about that." I blink at her slowly, "So you know what it's like to not want to share information." Her eyebrows lower, "It's different in _**your**_ circumstance!-Between you and I!" "Perhaps it is. But now we've both said the same sentence."

She shakes her head at me and snatches some bacon, then takes a quick bite out of it, "...I like you – ok? I found this place a long time ago and I wanted to have some time to talk to you. Yeah, it's weird of me the way I did it, but I couldn't think of any other way! And I needed to be as secretive as possible!"

_**You're not alone on being secretive… **_

"How can you like me if you don't know anything about me?" I ask.

"Well…I heard about you when your brothers were alive, fighting Cloud. I visited the forgotten capital a few times when you were there and just watched from the treetops. You were different from them – way different. And that fascinated me." I watch her eat and wonder to myself how frequent those 'visits' were. "Really…?" I almost inaudibly ask. She nods. I look down at the bacon and pick one up. I don't eat it right away, but eventually I bite a piece off. "…How's it taste?" She asks. I look up at her and lightly smile, "Bellissimo." "What?" I finish my bacon strips and make a soft sigh, "It means delicious in Italian." I wink at her.

After a second of watching me continue to eat my breakfast, she looks away, "Uh- Oh. Cool." I smirk at her as I take a bite of my egg, "Indeed." She glances at me out of the corner of her eye and then she blushes. _**Heh…cute. **_"So…that you're staying here with me, can I at least know why you had a shotgun instead of your precious pistol/rifle-thingy?" I finish eating and lean back in my seat, "You mean velvet nightmare? That was taken or destroyed." Her brow creases confusedly, "Destroyed…as in destroyed in the explosion?" I nod briefly, "I think so." "But why would it have been taken? Who would have done that?" Her question disturbs me because she is finding a way to get me to confess.

I shake my head, "Look. I don't want to say anymore about myself." She pushes her plate away and folds her hands on the table, "Listen Yazoo...I don't want anyone to know you're alive. You got that? You should by now. The reason I acted like I was going to attack you is because I wanted Vincent to think I was going to kill you, which he did."

Clever, but not clever enough for me to see past that. This girl is insane enough to want me dead at first, but then her attitude changes. I've noticed this. "If you don't return to him, he'll come looking for you, and where does that leave me? I have to leave." I tell her. She frowns at my words, "Well…maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. Where will you go?" I see her features are truly starting to sadden. I didn't expect that at all. She really _**does**_ like me.

I gently place my hand on my forehead and begin to think this over. _**I like her, but she'd be a 'boat anchor' if I left and had her come along with me. Why would I consider such a thing? This is the same lady that kidnapped me and held me here! Hold on…she's been helping me the whole time! She saved my life! **_I peek at her though my fingers. Yeah…she still has that pouting face. I sigh again. _**For the fun of it, let's see what happens.**_

"Would you like to…come with me to a different city?" Her eyes light up in such a way I assume she is shocked. She says, "Go with you to a different CITY? That's crazy!" I grab her hand, "You obviously don't want to lose sight of me, so what choice do you have?" She pulls it back, "I- I dunno!" "Would you give up your friends to be alongside your former enemy?" I ask. "That's crazy too!" She says. I shrug, "Your choice. It's all your choice." She slaps her forehead, "This is just…ugh!"

"I'll tell you what..." I stand, "From this point on, we'll keep a watchful eye out. And if any of your foolish AVALANCHE members come here, I'll kill them." She forms a disapproving look and quickly rises from her chair, "You'll do no such thing!" I look up at her through my lashes in a bored way, and say, "Then what do you suggest '_**White**_ _**Rose**_?" "HEY! I said only friends call me that!" I scoff, "Who am I to you then – a play-thing?" "N- No!" She spats.

I throw my hands up and nod, "Then I am a friend – to you. In the meantime, let's prosper in this place within the wilderness."

There's nothing here but…that same stupid forest I woke up in and killed those two guys that were stealing from me. I bet they stole my velvet nightmare. Why didn't I check them? Argh… What a major fail on my part! She soon says, "Fine… I'm ok with that." Watching her, I begin to imagine what life will be like in the next few days or maybe even months – if I can deal with her that long. I just nod at her once.


	7. Chapter 7: Kadaj, Loz - here I come

**A Puzzle Rearranged**

**Chapter 7**

* * *

**Five nights later…**

Yuffie is asleep, but I am awake. It is about 3 in the morning and for the past few hours I've been lying here in my bed with my eyes closed, thinking, thinking…and thinking some more. Here is my big chance to go out and find my brothers. Maybe even Cloud too. Yes…yes I'll do that. First, I'll locate them…and for the first time, I'll be leading those two. I will look at the northern crater, hopefully find them, then we'll go to the Healin Lodge where little Marlene, Denzel, Tifa, and big brother sleep… That is when we will kill them all. As Loz stuns the children with his dual-hound, Kadaj and I will sick our shadow creatures on them and the rest of their small swarm they call 'family'.

A wicked murderous smile spreads across my face as I slowly open my catlike eyes, "Big brother…oh how you are in for a treat…hm, hm, hm, hmm,"

With the (empty) shotgun in my hand, I sneak out of the broken window at the end of the hall and creep off away from the home. I don't have the key to the motorcycle, nor do I want to try starting the engine. That would wake her, of course. I've got a better idea…

I make sure I'm a good distance from the cabin, then I raise my right hand whilst still running. On that side, shadows begin to leap out of the soil and bounce off the ground like flying fish over an ocean. Suddenly, I jump into the darkness, and out I come riding one of my black beasts I call 'shadow creepers'. It's doglike, has armor around its midsection, and it's the size of a well-fed pig. I lean into its body, grinning and laughing as it quickens its pace.

As we go past many trees, we come across a few travelers outside a lit-up cabin. I'm thinking these people have something in common with the ones who tried to steal from me. I seek revenge on them as well! I lean to the left some to make my shadow creeper turn that way. On running at them, I spring off as the beast charges head-first at two screaming men. Stalking toward a group of farmer-like guys, I smirk evilly, snickering at their frightened behavior. No, I don't have any bullets in the shotgun, but they don't know that. There's the advantage I have. Information is power!

One man shouts, "No! Please! Stop!"

As those words leave his lips, I swing the butt of the gun at one guy's head and smack him right in the side of it, cracking his skull, sending him crashing down to the leafy ground. _**No mercy. I'm here to end it all! **_A woman and a baby scream and cry, causing me to quickly look over toward the cabin again. She's rushing back inside, but my creature meets up with her and then the door slams shut behind them. I can only hear her wail one more time before there is a loud CHOMP and a spluttering noise afterward. The baby is still crying. For a split second I think of saving it, but I lose that interest right away. I don't care about humanity. If anyone should, it should be them and mother Jenova.

I move my attention back to the men around me. Some of them have flaming pitchforks while others have knives and small guns. The think they've got me cornered. I belt out a laugh.

"This is our land! Get out of here!" One furious man shouts. Then all of them yell and run at me. Again, I blurt out a greatly amused laugh and then run back at them.

A knife-wielder almost stabs my left side, but I trip him, slam the tip of my gun's barrel down on his chest, and then I move onto one with a pitchfork.

Just then, the shadow creeper blasts out of the cabin door at immense speed and then runs and jumps onto the little amount of men with burning pitchforks. As its darkness engulfs their screaming bodies and tears them limb by limb using its large sharp teeth, I start marching away from there over to the last man standing. Along my way, I dodge the bloody body parts being flung everywhere. My target…yes, he's all alone…near the trees at the side of the house, staring at me, shaking like a leaf. If I dare think so, he looks like those two who looted from me. He may be their brother. Perfect! But I won't kill him right away. I need someone to question. I know, I should have asked questions first, but I wasn't interested in that. Plus, there were too many people around. They would've found me suspicious. And that's the LAST thing I'd want to happen.

I reach him and stop. He covers his face with his arms, "P-p-please! Oh god! No!" I roll my eyes and then whack his appendages with my shotgun, causing him to clamor out and fall to his knees. He pleadingly, shakily moves his brown eyes up to my impassive face, "What do you want, huh?! Why did you come and kill everyone?! WHO ARE YOU?!" He lowers his head and cries after the last question. I slowly tip my head to one side and emotionlessly say, "Do you know a man by the name of 'Kent'?"

He slowly drags his watery, sad, dancing eyes back up to mine, his bottom lip trembling rapidly in fear as if he will bite through it soon.

* * *

**Now walking back **over to my calm creeper, I mount it and look at all the dead bodies. Some aren't even together anymore. They are ripped to pieces. I pat my creature on its shoulder and ride off toward the crater. _**I knew it. Something was telling me they had something to do with those two thieves. That last one…he was their cousin. My assumptions were close enough. Everyone else just lived here or they were visiting. I don't care if they were innocent or not. Revenge is revenge and I don't tolerate humans, whether they mean well or not. **_

Eventually, I make it to the northern crater. I jump off and look around the big place, then dismiss my ride. "Kadaj? Loz?" I call out, cupping my mouth. There's no sign of them so far that I can see. However, there is the sound of two men scolding each other way off to the far right corner – past the pond I was born in. They sound familiar, but they aren't my brothers...

"Ugh! Listen 'partner', when Tseng tells me how to keep my office clean, he can shove it up his-" "RENO! SHUT – UP!"

Nope. It's definitely not them.

Reno growls, "Fine."

"Good. Now – did you hear something?" The other says.

Great, now I've been spotted. I glance down at my dirty, bloody formal clothing. Yuffie made me wash these yesterday. She even…showed me how. _**Another act of kindness…hmm.**_

"Hey! It's that silver-haired bastard!" Reno points at me. I quickly look up at him. Ahh yes…my enemies from the past – Reno and Rude. The white sloppily dressed one has a long _**pink ponytail **_and the black one is bald. They're in black suits. Rude seems to never want to show his eyes, given he always has black shades on. These two work for that mega corporation called: ShinRa Power Electric Company. They're basically ShinRa's dogs.

I aim the shotgun at them, "Well I wonder why you two are here," It aggravates me to see them here, but I guess it also excites me. I could finish them off too. That will surely rub it in ShinRa's face that his employees aren't all that good at their jobs. And so, I smirk at the marvelous idea.

"None ya business, freak," Reno hisses. "The question is – what are _**you **_doing here?" Rude asks.

"You don't need to know." I say with little humor in my voice.

"The hell we don't!" Reno barks, then aims his electro-mag rod at me, "You're not leavin' us alive yo!" Rude cracks his knuckles and his neck, "Let's finish him."

First, I look around for Loz and Kadaj. Still, they're nowhere to be found. I turn my attention back to the two Turks and grimace. I'm not going to cheat this battle. I won't summon a shadow creeper on them. That'll be too easy. "Alright," I say, "then let the games begin." I laugh under my breath.

We run at each other, and then the first thing Reno does is try to hit me with his weapon. It doesn't work. I snatch it from him and whap his head with it. That particular action made him lose his balance. Now he's wobbling from side to side while pressing his hand to his aching forehead. Rude attempts to trip me, so I throw my right leg out at him, kicking him away from me. He falls to the ground with an, "Oomph!"

I grab Reno's hair, yank it back, and then shove him forward into the rocky wall in front of us, "What's the matter, huh? Not as well-trained as you thought!"

Wincing and backing away from it, he slowly looks back at me and scowls, "Are you kidding? We're just WARMIN' UP!" I tilt my head as he runs at me again.

Rude raises one hand as he tries to rise to his feet, "Reno, no!" Though the redhead doesn't pay him any mind.

Lucky for me, I still have that rod in hand. Reno tries to take it from me again, but I shock him with it and hit his ribs and stomach multiple times. Rude comes up behind me, wraps his arms around my neck and squeezes it tightly. I smash the back of my head into his frontal lobe, then whirl around and whack his neck with Reno's weapon. When he falls, and as Reno coughs and wheezes, I stare down at him for a short moment. He's gripping his throat, obviously struggling to breathe. "Hmph," I scoff.

Dropping the rod next to him, I walk off and leave the two.

From the looks of it, and by now, my brothers would've shown their faces. They would've joined the fight. I'm not about to stay here. The sun is rising, Yuffie will be awake in no time, and these two will die soon from internal bleeding. After a while of no return to ShinRa, there will be a search team out looking for them, no doubt. I will not be present when this happens. Because I have gloves on, there aren't any fingerprints – so that's a good thing – for me it is, anyway. The only reason why I'm going back to Yuffie is because she is providing food and shelter. Also…she's interesting to talk to – I suppose.

I summon my shadow creeper and go on my way back to the cabin. Unfortunately, since I wasn't able to find Kadaj and Loz, I can't go to Midgar. Cloud and Tifa together put up a good fight…one I couldn't possibly win alone. I will lie low until the appropriate time comes. And then…I will get _**our**_ revenge.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**How bloody, right? Yazoo is SERIOUS! It's funny how he is scared to battle Cloud and Tifa, but he fears nothing (or I should say 'no one') else.**

**...Should he be afraid of Yuffie?  
**


	8. Chapter 8: Fear of the unknown

**A Puzzle Rearranged**

**Chapter 8**

* * *

**Five and a half months have **gone by…those many months of learning more and more about this strange but entirely intriguing 'Yuffie Kisaragi' – the White rose, princess, and ninja of great, magnificent Wutai – or so that's how she puts it when speaking of 'Wutai pride'. I've not told her a thing about the deaths of Rude and Reno. I figured it would be better I didn't. However, she wouldn't really go out and tell everyone she knows - because then I'd have ShinRa at our door constantly.

Anyway...I must say, for every morning that I wake, I smell that bacon and go into the kitchen and see her lovely face. Over time, I have come to realize she has made a piece of me that I was never aware of come out – it's kindness. Only seven or eight times have any of AVALANCHE appeared around these parts. It makes her sad but it puts me at ease. I've constantly been on the look-out for my brothers, might I add. There's been no sign of them – not one. One would think that enemies chase each other (meaning, my brothers would chase Cloud and his allies here) to the ends of the world 'till they finally get the chance to corner their prey – to kill them and rid their problems between each other right then and there. Kadaj, the youngest of us three, would've very much been likely to follow SOMEONE here by now. I am beginning to give up hope. I wish I could have woken up immediately and searched for Loz, but curse me – my weakness got the better of me.

Back on thinking of Yuffie, I feel strange to admit…she is somehow managing to steal my heart as time goes on. I cannot believe I am starting to understand this warmness, this feeling of human 'love', and the beauty of 'touch'. Never did I think the word 'touch' had such significant meaning. To me, it always meant brutality. Well, here I am…standing in front of her, holding onto her hips and staring into her eyes. She's smiling at me. Dear Jenova…that smile. I return it with my own and lean down to kiss her.

Eventually, our faces back away about an inch. "Yazoo, I'm sorry." She tells me, which immediately confounds me. "Why? Sorry for what?" I ask. "I'm sorry I've taken your freedom from you." She closes her eyes and lowers her head. I lift her chin up, "I'm ok with it…now. I'm drawn to you – I really am. I don't understand it and I don't think I ever will, but I am." She slowly bites her lip. I thumb over it and smirk a little, "It hasn't been too long that we've been together…but I've…fallen for you. You pulled a side of me out that I don't think I'll ever lose. You've opened me up to a brighter side of life. Who would want what I had – my darkness?" She places a gentle hand on my face and I close my eyes, resting my cheek into it. "No one," She says.

I grab her hand and kiss it, then look back at the door, "I'll do as you asked." She pulls my face back to look at it, "Be careful." I gaze into her eyes for a moment. _**She looks so concerned…the way her big brown eyes dance in worry for my safety makes me want to stay here and assure her everything will be fine…she knows it will though. **_I move forward and kiss her again, then slowly back away, "Of course," I grab my shotgun and head out the door.

Stalking up, I mount the motorcycle and gun it to life, then dash away from the small house onto the dirt path that leads out to the desert. I – _**I**_ am going to Midgar for the first time in months – and it's nighttime.

**I get to the outskirts **and ride right into the city. A few people are jumping out of my way as I speed past the stores and office buildings. It's nearly a nightmare dodging the slow-moving vehicles on the street! These folks are going to their homes, I assume. I am out at night because Yuffie recommended it. My quest is to find a certain store that runs 24/7 and I am to purchase enough food items to last us for at least 2 weeks. She has a slight cold, so I volunteered to do this. But, little does she know, I am also out to search for my brothers one last time. I've gone to the crater where we manifested together…I've gone to all the places I could imagine to find them, but not here. There is a known reason why I haven't; it's so I wouldn't get into any confrontations with AVALANCHE or anyone who aids them. Yuffie has actually kept me away from battling anyone. Oh, how I'd love to get back at Cloud for what he did to me – to Sephiroth. I've gotten to the point though that I care too much about her to go against her wishes. I lean in closer to the motorcycle's body as I make a swift right turn down another smaller street.

Quickly fishing a note out of my jacket pocket, I glimpse down at it to remind myself where I am going, then I tuck it back inside and look on either side of me at the signs dangling from the onings of the shops. All of them are closed…all of them except the one at the very end. The yellow lights are beaming brightly out of the windows, illuminating the street. I jerk the throttle real fast and race onward. Upon my hasty arrival, I swerve the vehicle while staring up at the five floors of a rundown, old-looking structure. On the door and a sign hanging from a lamp-post, they both read: **"Benson's General Store"**My brows draw down to the sight. I am not sure why, but this place unsettles me some. Could it be that it's possibly the only store open all night long in the city? That's probably so. Oh well – I have business to tend to.

I get off the motorcycle, grab my gun from the compartment in the rear, and then stride toward the door. Before I take a hold of the knob, I scan the interior through the decorated fogged glass, "Hmm," Inside, it looks like a regular general store, having the small isles with no walls, stocked with fruits and vegetables. The meat section must be on a wall somewhere. No one is in there but the old clerk and a tall man in a black formal suit. He has long black hair. Wait – I see a blonde-headed woman with him. I move away from the door a little, watching them intently. Something about those two seem familiar to me. They both walk over to the register to buy a few cartons of fruit and a large package of meat. I smirk and chuckle to myself, for I figure this must be their 'date night'. They finish paying for the groceries and start for the door. I quietly step back and lightly squeeze the shotgun. I will find out who these faces are.

When the door opens, I watch them walk out. They're laughing with each other. The girl has short hair and she too is in a suit. My eyes widen. Elena and Tseng! MORE TURKS! I instantly aim the gun at them and grin, "Good to see you," I calmly tip my head to one side, "old friends… Did you miss me?" The woman shifts around to me, dropping her bag of groceries, and the man stiffens at the sound of my voice. I laugh under my breath at them. Just look at how frightened she is…and how angry he is all of a sudden! It really IS Tseng! And it looks like they're both-

Tseng sets the bags down and then quickly draws his pistol, "You won't interfere with us!" I was going to say unarmed…but of course they aren't. My entertained eyes move up to his face from his pistol, "Tseng and Elena, is it?" Elena pulls out her small gun and shakily aims it at me, "Put the weapon down!"

I just chuckle at them.

"You're not supposed to be alive. Why are you here?" Tseng hisses. I lower the gun and smile devilishly, "Ohh…for fun…what else?" then I slowly bring it back up to target them again, "Do give me the pleasure of taking your lives," with the lust to spill their blood in my eyes, I laugh quietly again, "I would so enjoy seeing the light drain from your eyes." The desire to witness their deaths has yet to leave me. I remember how Kadaj, Loz, and I tortured these two for information on where big brother Cloud was. For all I know, the 'Turks' could have my brothers in captivity as ordered by their boss, 'Rufus ShinRa'.

Tseng scowls at me while saying, "I think it should be the other way around." He quickly looks over at Elena and she nods, then they both start shooting at me – unskillfully in my opinion. Dodging the bullets without a second thought, I laugh at them and then run around the building into the shadowy depths of a dark alley. Finally, some challenge! The store owner runs outside and looks around fearfully, "What's going on out here?!" Elena tells him, "Sir, go back inside!" Tseng kicks the dirt before chasing after me, also tapping her on the shoulder and giving her a signal to follow him. She dips her head and gives the man one last look, "Go!" He gasps, then hurriedly staggers back inside and slams the door shut. He flips the 'open' sign to 'closed' right after.

I get to the middle of the alley and stop. Oh how fun this chase is already! I stare ahead in wait of Tseng and that rookie, Elena, who I once thought was cute. His footsteps rush down here and soon come to a hesitant halt, like he is unsure if he should go any farther or not. "Tseng!" Elena calls out to him. Without looking back at her, he says, "Stay where you are Elena." And then he carefully moves toward me.

He doesn't know he's about to pass me. I turn my head down slowly with a dark, evil smile and watch him walk by through my lashes. Because I am who I am, and not human, I have the ability to see in the dark. As soon as he passes me, I whirl around and lock him against my chest.

He grabs my arm and chokes out, "Argh! Let me go!" I tilt my head, "Not if you have this," I grab his gun-hand and snap his wrist, receiving a scream from him as he drops his pistol. Then I kick him forward. He hits the dirty pavement and I start walking toward him menacingly. While holding onto his wrist, he anxiously looks back at me. My eyes flash with excitement. _**Yes Tseng...look at me like that. Show me the delicious fear in your eyes... Your bravery isn't so evident anymore, is it? Hm, hm, hm, hmm...**_

Suddenly, we both hear, "NO!" and then there's a few gunshots.

Both Tseng and I dart our eyes over where Elena is. She's racing down the alley, shooting at us. I swiftly jump and swerve out of the way as much as I can, but I get hit in the shoulder, the leg, and my abdominal region. "Tseng! Tseng! Where are you?!" "Argh, Elena! I'm hit!" He responds, sounding quite breathless and strained. She hurries past me and I almost grab her leg, gasping out, "Fool!" She collapses beside Tseng and slings his arm around her neck, then hastily helps him back out of the alley where we all entered from. I turn over onto my back and let out a moan.

Listening to them escape, I silently curse myself out for what I've done. Now they're going to tell Rufus I'm alive. I need to get out of here – fast. With another huff and groan, I move back over onto my stomach and try to push my body up. It hurts so badly – it really does. I manage to crawl to a wall, and then I lean my weak back against it. I hear something whoosh by all of a sudden. It makes me whirl my head around to see what it is, but I can't see it! Blurriness is taking over my vision! If it's Vincent – I'm in for trouble. I hate to think that, but it's true.

I scan every inch of my surroundings frantically, my breathing quick and unsteady. Another whoosh noise fills the alley. And then I hear something like a man gently touch the ground with his feet. He's now walking toward me. Tap, tap, tap, tap…stop.

I feel his presence crouch down beside me, yet another whoosh is heard and actually matches his sudden movement. Everything has gone black by now, I must say. I can only feel my heartbeat racing, my body going into a cold sweat, my head spinning, and the pain – oh, the pain! "G-get…go a-_**away**_," I splutter. He chuckles and then takes my forearm. I gasp. He's really cold!

"I've been watching you for sometime now…" He murmurs. I try to look at him, but of course, to no avail. "Let me go!" I attempt to shout, though I stutter in the process. He grabs my chin and forces me to look in the direction of his face. Suddenly, I see two red eyes – only two red eyes.

"...You're in love…and you would like to return to her, correct? You would like to hold her, to love her, to cuddle her – correct? And you don't want to die." His words surprise me immediately. Who is he, what is he, and where is he from? How does he know anything about me? I've not heard or seen this 'person' in my entire life – a short-lived one at that! "…Yes," I breathe frightfully. "You are dying, but I…can spare your life." "H-H-" I try to ask 'how', but then I belt out a small cry and slide my shoulder down the wall and fall onto my side in hurt. My life will end any minute from now – I'm pretty sure.

"Close your eyes and take deep breaths." He says. I do as told without question. I feel him grab my arm and press the tip of his thumb into it, then begin massaging it, gradually pricking my skin with his sharp, sharp nail. A whimper leaves my lips to the sensation. But soon, I get a sort of invigorating feeling like I am falling through many silky, puffy, soft clouds that are neither hot nor cold, but have a delightful cool breeze, and it's brushing across the bare parts of my skin. My soul is slowly slipping away from my body. I can tell now that am about to leave this life and go into eternal peace – the life-stream. I'm not sure who this man is or what he is doing, but I am certain he has come to ease my passing. I can finally reunite with my brothers and be forever…happy. I'll not ever have to deal with the problems of today, tomorrow…or the grief of the past. I won't keep Yuffie from her friends anymore. She will live on and grow old without me. She will most likely forget what we have now, for my existence has always been nothing but a shadow of what 'was'.

Just a moment further into this experience I'm having, reality comes back to me as I feel cold breath blow on my arm a few times. I shudder. Just then, I feel four extremely sharp shards clamp down onto my arm, causing me to quickly throw my head back with a wail. This pain...is more terrible…than you could EVER imagine! The man hushes me by slapping one of his hands to my mouth. Those red eyes get close to my catlike ones, and in his deep voice, he softly, quietly says, "Your new life shall begin…starting – now." While my bottom lip quivers rapidly, I stare at him in fear of the unknown meaning behind his actions and words. I feel like I'm dying. My energy is going away but my brain is still very much alive. The lights are leaving my eyes as I faintly whisper that sweet, beautiful angel's name, "Yuffie…m-my…_**Yuffie**_," Everything fades into nothingness just as the male figure stands up and towers over my scrunched-up body.


	9. Chapter 9: Fantasy becomes reality

**A Puzzle Rearranged  
**

**Chapter 9**

* * *

**I cough multiple times **and then my loud and desperate gasp for air echoes throughout the alley.

Finally, after violent inhaling and exhaling, I manage to catch my breath. Then I search everywhere frightfully. The alley – I'm still here. It's still dark but I can see everything around me. I huff out, "What happened to me?"

"…You agreed – that's what happened."  
I hear that response from above.

I shoot my eyes up to the top of the building to my right. There's a man in a silver vest, black slacks, and a black cowboy hat crouching down on the corner ledge up there. He's grinning at me toothily and his red eyes are excitedly watching my every move. I skin my hands on the concrete upon trying to crawl away from that building as fast as I can. He lowers his head with a laugh and leaps off the edge, then he daintily lands right in front of me and looks up slightly.

I only see his long narrow nose and the bottom halves of his eyes – don't forget those majorly sharp CANINES! "You agreed, did you not?" He asks. My mouth opens and closes repeatedly, eyes widening as the mere seconds tick by. "Uh- Uh-!" I stutter. I've never been so scared in my life! In fact, I've NEVER been scared before! Oh no – my mouth is going dry! My heartbeat is pounding!

He kneels, lazily slumping his arms over his kneecaps, and tips his head to one side, "What's _**wrong**_? Something got your _**tongue**_?" I gulp down the lump in my throat and quickly shake my head, "N-No!" He grins, "Then why won't you answer the question?" I let out a shaky breath and momentarily reply with, "You answer this first!-Who are you?!" I glimpse over for my shotgun but I haven't much time to find it. He makes a perceptive expression and then nods, "Hmm…very well. I'm your savior – that's who." I draw my brows down, "That's not what I meant!" He laughs at me and gives me a knowing look as he leans forward, "That's all you need to know. Now that I've answered your query, let's move onto something else – considering I find my previous question irrelevant. Do you have any other…_**questions**_?" When saying 'questions', he grins like a fox, arching an eyebrow at the same time.

I flutter my lashes at him as I try to comprehend everything that's happening to me. "Uh- ..." I lower my gaze to the ground in thought, then start rubbing my arms, "I just want get away from here so I can warm up. I don't feel the need to, but my skin is cold." He makes a sound as if he's quite tickled by what I said. I quickly glance back up at him in an annoyed way, "Is there something funny about what I said?" He nods at me, having a wide wolfish smile, "Indeed – Yazoo."

My eyes light up, "How do you know my name?!"

"First…are you _**hungry**_?"

I glare at him for his stupid question, "What does that have to do with anything? Don't dodge my question!" He snatches my arm and shows me two holes that are not far apart from each other, in my skin, "See this? What do you think happened?" I yank it back and hiss at him, "Don't touch me!" He rests his arms back over his kneecaps and just observes me in that same eerily mirthful manner he's had ever since we started talking to each other.

I drag my eyes back up to him from staring at the marks in my arm, "What did you do? Was it you that did this to me?" He chortles through his smile and then nods slowly. He says, "I roam places like these that are full of life…" He stands up in such a way I'd say he doesn't use one bone in his body! His movement is so much like a paper cutout slowly rising to life. "I'm neither alive nor dead. See me as if I am stuck in time." He stretches his arms out proudly and dips his head, "I am what most call – a child of the night, a nosferatu…a _**vampire**_." His arms fall back to his sides, "I linger on as time passes by. I have eternal youth – but there is one thing I must do to keep that." His eyes suddenly fade to a dark red. He closes them, turning his head down and to the side as his features calmly shift into impassiveness, "The sweet, spine-tingling, _**mouth-watering **_substance I always long for…" He tiredly reopens his eyes and looks to the side at me, "the taste…of perfect blood." He faces me, "I've gone a very long time without it. Not one – not even you were the 'perfect taste'. You see, the certain kind I search for is innocent blood. That kind makes you stronger, faster, and it gives you an outstanding adrenaline rush. As the years go by, innocence dies while technology progresses. You don't have innocent blood." He sighs, "…I drank from you, but gave you the choice to either become like me or die. Of course you know now…you chose the first option."

His whole explanation has rendered me completely speechless. I am like…him?-A vampire? After a long moment of silence, I ask, "…How do you know anything about my personal life?"

He lifts his head up and looks down at me with a smirk, "Everything there is to know is in the blood – down to the littlest thought, _**Yazoo**_. Your life is now a puzzle rearranged."

My lips part and my eyes fall away from his face, to the ground again. He speaks the cold hard truth. I can't go back to Yuffie…she'll find out what happened to me somehow. I hear him say, "Your skin is as white as a sheet of paper, the top edges of your ears are point-tipped, your eyes are crimson, and you have super-speed, strength, thought, and sight. You should feel the thirst for blood anytime now." He swiftly crouches down in front of me, gripping my jaw with one hand and drilling his eyes mine, "Yazoo – you must drink." A small hurt noise emits from my throat. I don't want to do this. Why did I say 'yes' to him?

He searches my eyes with seriousness, "You were going to die. Of course you said yes. You cherish life and that's something special. Most humans choose otherwise and I find that terribly disgusting. I can read your thoughts, and so will you when you drink from someone – you'll be able to _**read**_. _**their**_._** minds**_." A tear rides down my cheek as he says this to me. I am upset because I'll have to leave Yuffie. "I- …" I take in an uneasy breath, "I'll have to leave her, won't I? I can't-" I choke on my words, suddenly turning my face away from him, shutting my eyes.

He rises again, "Oh you can return to her, but if you wish for her to keep her humanity, you might have to go to great lengths. However," He tilts his head, studying me oddly, "you still seem to lack the strong desire to drink blood. Heh…that's a bit strange." I scan his face somewhat worriedly and ask, "What does that mean?" He looks down the other end of the alley and folds his arms, "It means you can control your blood-lust better than most vampires." He glances back at me, grinning now, "Which also means you can go back to your love." My eyes widen, then I jump to my feet, "Really?!" He nods the positive. Now I must be considered one of the happiest men of all in the world! I can go back 'home' and tell her that I love her! I have the great opportunity to ask her to be my wife!

This 'vampire' bows his head at me, having a look of warning on his face. He quietly tells me, "Remember…it's her choice." I stop smiling and then knit my eyebrows in question, "What will happen if say my 'blood-lust' takes over and I _**do **_bite her?" He stiffens and inhales deeply. "You'll be in for hell." He says that matter-of-factually and laughs afterward. "Why?" I ask. His eyes flash, "_**Revenge**_,"I cautiously take a step away from him because of his weird behavior. I just nod, "Ok… I'll be careful. I'll try really hard."

He smirks at me and then looks off toward the rising sun, "Even though I do most of my work in daylight hours, I've got resting to do." He moves back, tips his hat at me, then turns and starts walking away. I watch him eventually reach the end and disappear around a corner, then I begin to wonder 'why didn't I demand his name?' Looking back at my arm for a long moment, I go into deep thought about how I'll always remember this night. No one could forget this sort of thing, now could they? I was given eternal life all because I decided to fight a previous enemy. Dumb of me, yeah. I'll just have to live with this.

Walking over, I pick my shotgun up, lick my dry blood off it with a grin, and then look toward the city that is now waking up. I'm excited to see what this new life is all about. Yes, I know I will hate it one day, but I want to see what I'm _**truly**_ made of. I'm already a highly experienced gunman, and I know martial-arts off the back of my hand. "Well…let's see about this," I giggle quietly and then race the other way where I know there are a few apartments and few amounts of people living there.

I get to the apartment I bashed the window in at and stand there at the bottom of the steel stairs. A wicked beam spreads across my face, "Hmm," Now going up and through the broken window, I stride to the door, yank it open and see a few passing people shriek at the sight of the gun and the murderous look in my eyes. I shoot one man in the chest. The blow sends him ramming into the wall behind him. The smell of his blood arouses my entire body to the point I desperately _**yearn**_ to drink from him! And my canines…they hurt as they grow, but I forget that pain as I lurch forward to drink his life away.


	10. Chapter 10: 'Our' happy ending

**A Puzzle Rearranged**

**Chapter 10**

* * *

**Now returning to 'our' house **after my great experience in the city, I stop in the dirt driveway and turn the motorcycle's engine off. As I sit there for a (somewhat) short while, my smile widens. I'm extremely happy – but there are two kinds of happiness I have. One is that I've come home to my beautiful white rose, and the other is that I killed a good amount of people from Midgar. I have accomplished such wonderful things! This is a message to you, big brother…I'm invincible now! I chuckle to myself. I am just _**moved**_ by the great feeling of destroying (possibly) some of his friends.

When I go to get off the vehicle, the sound of the front door flying open and the glass-shattering voice shouting, "YAZZY!" fills the forest. I wincingly turn my head to look at her. I have noticed my senses are 5 times more effective after my first 'feeding'. As soon as my eyes lock onto that face, I have to smile. Now that Yuffie's distracted me, the ringing in my ears has disappeared. She starts marching toward me in an angry way, but suddenly stops in her tracks.

Her eyes have grown to the size of giant saucers. I run to her and then snatch her into a tight enveloping hug, burying my nose into her silky ebony hair that smells like a meadow of many beautiful flowers, "Yuffie," She pushes me away, "Yazoo, what's wrong with you?!"

I blink at her strangely, "What do you mean?"

She takes a few strands of my long silver hair into her right hand and then inspects my face, "You're paler than usual…you're cold…and your eyes…they're red. Are you…sick?"

My confusion switches to a sort of sadness as I think over how I could explain my situation to her. No, I'm not sick…I'm half-alive, half-dead – a child of the night like my 'savior'.

I grab her shoulders, look deep into her lovely brown eyes, and say, "Yuffie, I will explain later. I've got something much more important to say to you." She looks from my snow-white hands to my (now) flawless face, "I think your health is much more important than words-" I put my index finger on her lips, "Shh," She narrows her eyes. I grin at her expression, finding it hilarious, then I get close to her ear and say, "I love you, my sweet little ninja of Wutai," I close my eyes and brush the tip my nose over it. She, shocked for a moment, then quickly grabs my shirt collar with both hands and plants her lips on mine, "About time you say that! I love you too Silvee!" I smile and simper into the kiss and pull her closer until our chests are flush against each other.

**Three months later… **It's a warm summer evening. Yuffie and I are standing atop of a Cliffside in a gazebo, gazing at the perfect view of the many stars in the night's sky – and of course the occasional glances down at the black ever-moving ocean. Thinking about the past, I gently caress her left shoulder as we stand side-by-side and enjoy the comfortable breeze. AVALANCHE knows I'm alive – all of them do. It was Tseng and Elena that spread the word as I expected. I've confronted Vincent and my dear big brother Cloud time after time once those Turks announced my existence. It is a never-ending battle, but Yuffie keeps it all in-line somehow. She doesn't mind it. I don't understand how she can tolerate it. Oh well. As for my brothers…I still fail to find them. The past is the past and shall stay there…perhaps. I inhale deeply and then turn to her with a mischievous smirk, "Yuffie," She looks to the side at me, "What?"

I pull a blindfold out of my jeans' pocket and mockingly shake it in front of her, "Let me put this on you. I've got a surprise."

She doesn't like the idea at first, but when she sees me look at her in a lightly exasperated way, she rolls her eyes and turns around. I slip it over her eyes and tie the ends at the back of her head, then walk around to the front of her and put my hand in my left pocket to search for something. I pull it out, grab her hand, and slide a dainty silver ring with three different colored jewels onto her wedding finger. She gasps and quickly rips the blindfold off, her attention immediately directed to her hand. She darts her eyes back up at me, "Y-Yazoo?" I grab that hand and kiss her knuckles, "Be mine…_**Yuffie**_," A small sound escapes her, then she abruptly latches onto me, nearly knocking me off my feet, "YES!" At that, I smile greatly and then snatch her face, swiftly pulling it back around to kiss her.

My puzzle has been rearranged. I will make this…a better one – a better life. I am finally…happy.

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**From the author:****  
**  
**And now we've reached the end! I hope everyone enjoyed my short story! Let me know what you think!  
Review, review, and review some more!**

...But don't over-review. *laughs*

**~Penny Lane**


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